Chapter Member in the News

Isle expert urges more professionals to aid in Ebola threat

Tech consultant Leroy Harris went to Liberia to boost coordination among agencies

(Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 12--The plane that carried Honolulu resident Leroy Harris to Monrovia, Liberia, on Sept. 16 was largely empty as people veered away from the nation that has suffered most from the Ebola virus.

"There were maybe 30 people on that whole big plane," said Harris, who was part of a team of consultants invited by the Liberian government. "Everyone on the plane was coming to work, or part of a U.N. agency or a family member." His flight coming out of Monrovia on Oct. 3 was fairly full. The inflow of expertise to the country needs to ramp up, according to Harris, who traveled to Liberia as an engagement specialist for the Defense Department's Center for Disaster & Humanitarian Assistance Medicine.

More professionals, with proper gear and training, are needed in Liberia and neighboring countries to handle and contain the outbreak of the deadly virus.